Wednesday, October 1, 2014

How I lost my sight from bomb blasts

At first, it was all about the number of the deceased, houses destroyed,
injuries sustained and the compensation that caught the media attention. However,
as time progress, news about victims that have been left with total blindness
and some developing prostate cancer resulting from Mbagala military barracks bomb
blasts have started to resurface. Juma Ngogo
(71) a Mbagala Kuu resident became visually impaired after the 2009 Mbagala
military blasts that left 29 people dead with more than 300 injuries. He
is one amongst the victims The Guardian exclusively interviewed during a recent
demonstration by the bomb blasts victims at Mbagala Kuu in Dar es Salaam. He
can only walk with the help of his grandson. Such victims’ lives have been turned upside down. The smoke resulting
from bomb blasts falling on their houses have left them dependants, beggars and
unable to lead a normal life they used to have. “I heard a huge sound of an explosion and
smoke billowing out of my house; I couldn’t wait but rush inside to save my
sickly sleeping young child. Little had I known that the smoke could endanger
my sight. It however took me two months after the blasts that I started feeling
like eye infections and internal pain before rushing to hospital for medical
checkup” he said.He said that
doctors atVikindu Mission Hospital in
Mkuranga district and Tabata Hospital in the city failed to diagnose anything
due to lack of equipments and later visited the Comprehensive Community Based
Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT), a disability hospital located at Msasani,
Dar es Salaam where doctors confirmed that the blindness resulted from the bomb
blasts.Doctors said failure to immediately
wash his eyes with cold water after the blasts caused the chemicals from the
smoke to form an opaque like layer in his eyes leading to loss of sight.Military experts also told him that a
bomb that fell around his compound failing to detonate had produced dangerous
smoke that affected his eyes leading him to becoming blind.The explosion also pulled down his
entire five bedroom house roof. He said on the fateful day, as he was sitting outside
his house, he witnessed two explosions from the nearby military barracks with a
third one razing his entire house roof. “It was commotion, people running in
opposite direction, with many losing their relatives, friends, and children. He
has so far spent Sh350, 000 in admission and Sh140, 000 for medication while
also undergoing a minor operation at the cost of Sh80,000. “Doctors said the
chemicals from undetonated bomb had created an opaque layer that affected my
vision.May be if I had undergone a major operation at a cost of Sh500, 000 as
per the specialist claim at CCBRT,

Juma Seif Ngogo, among the 86 victims who has lost his sight due to Mbagala bomb blasts.

I could have saved my sight, he said adding
that at that time he could not manage to raise that amount, because he nearly
lost everything after the blasts.The
government has so far paid him Sh233, 000 in compensation for the destroyed
roof. He is now one amongst the committee members formed in the area demanding for
an additional compensation payment. Ngogo a resident of Mbagala Kuu in the
city, and former employee of the defunct National Shipping Agency (NASACO) said
President Jakaya Kikwete need to assist them and ensure that the review of
their payments is made to allow them get a fair compensation.Their committee is mandated to ensure
that the review of the compensation is done in order to ensure that all the
victims’ rights are met. Ramadhani Mbamba (64) is one amongst vision impaired Mbagala
Kuu bomb blasts victims, also with a vision problem. He says the smoke from the
blasts that had hit his house led to his disorderly and sustaining a fractured
leg. On the fateful day, Mbamba said he was selling cooking utensils around his
residential area where he experienced smoke blasts that affected his sight. According
to him, it took six months for him to start feeling pain and undergoing an
operation at the CCBRT hospital at the cost of Sh110,000. “The operation did
little to save my sight”, he says. Other vision impaired victims resulting from
bomb blasts include, Mwajabu Ally, Mariam Kambi, and Athuman Mkagi. They all
reside at Mbagala Kuu area in Dar es Salaam.Steven Gimonge (75) is one amongst the victims claiming to be
suffering from prostate cancer resulting from the blasts. The surgery for the lethal
disease could cost him more than Sh3million. He is now under a 30 tablets Cassotide
medication that is costing him Sh500,000 for a single dose.Gimonge, the Chairperson of the
compensation committee said it is very sad that the government had to pay some
victims a mere Sh1,950 in compensation for their destroyed properties. “This
amount can hardly buy a packet of sugar” he says.He said that “medical checkup was not a priority for the disaster
management team after the incident, their priority was so save lives and attend
to injuries, and we were later told that doctors would be here on daily basis
but no one turned up”Officials
tasked to make the valuation for our compensation also miscalculated the value of
the destroyed properties especially houses carrying out evaluation exercises in
absence of house owners that led to minimal payments.The however said that the Disaster Management Department under
the Prime Minister’s Office is yet to be reached for their claims. Gimonge
said all the victims will soon meet the disaster management department to air
out their grievances where all their medical certificates indicating the cause
of their diseases will be presented.More
than hundred residents are still pressing the government to reevaluate their
compensation claiming that the high-level probe committee comprising national
security and police personnel failed to do their work. The incident at Mbagala
military blasts was the first such scene to take place in the country followed by
the Gongolamboto military base blasts that killed 22 people.

AWARD 1

I won the second prize in policy category of the African Information society Initiative ( AISI) awards 2004 which is annually organized by the United Nations- Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA) based in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. On the first photo above standing with other awardees after the Ceremony at the National Settlers monument in Grahamstown, South Africa.This was during the 8th Highway Africa Conference.The second photo shows the cross section of Jounalists from different African countries who attended the ceremony.

AWARD 2

I also won the AISI-GKP/SDC Media Award special reporting on WSIS process and Africa, and conferred with the award in Tunis, Tunisia during WSIS summit in 2005. See the photo above.

AWARD 3

Winner on the Media Competition on writing about " Stigma denial and Discrimination" associated with HIV/AIDS. This was organized by theAssociation of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT). On the Photo above President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania, ( then the Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation) was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony.This was at Maelezo auditorium in Dar-es-Salaam September 2005.

AWARD 4

Winner on the Media Competition on writing about "Vulnerable Children" associated with HIV/AIDS This was organized by the Association of Journalists Against Aids in Tanzania ( AJAAT)

AWARD 5

Winner of the National ICT Media Award organized By SWOPNET in the Country. On the photo above Morogoro Regional Commissioner, Brigadier General ( Rt) Saidi Kalembo was the guest of honour during the award giving ceremony which was held at New Sarvoy Hotel in morogoro town.I was awarded a Mobile phone and a tape-recorder.

AWARD 6

I participated in the Media Competition in writing about VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) in Tanzania which was held between July 15th and October 30th 2008 whereby I emerged among the top five winners. The competition was under the program known as “Tanzania bila Ukwimwi inawezekana” which literally means, Tanzania without AIDS disease transmission is possible”. This is a program which was organizedby the Association of Journalists Against AIDS in Tanzania (AJAAT) under TACAIDS funding. In the photo, I am being presented with a certificate of participation by the Chairman of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) Dr. Fatma Mrisho in a colorful ceremony which was held on 22nd December 2008 at Tanzania Information Centre in Dar es Salaam.

AWARD 7

AWARD 8

AWARD 9

I was among the top 17 best selected students who excelled in their final examinations of the 2010/2011 academic year and awarded with the Vice-Chancellor’s prize. I scored 4.5 GPA (First Class) in BA in Journalism. Above I am being given a certificate by the Chairman of the Open University of Tanzania Board of Senate. Standing at the centre facing camera is the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tolly Mbwette. Extreme left partly hidden is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Elifas Bisanda. This occasion took place during the convocation meeting, a day before the graduation day at the prospective permanent headquarter of the Open University of Tanzania which is currently under construction at Bungo-Kibaha in Coast region 40 kilometers away west of Dar es Salaam city.